dragoneggs
Super Star Member
- Joined
- Jun 9, 2013
- Messages
- 14,625
- Location
- Seabeck, Washington
- Tractor
- Kubota BX-25D, Kubota Z122RKW-42
Wow!!!
What were your best "Macgyver fixes"?
- Thread starter NoTrespassing
- Start date
thepumpguysc
Elite Member
I worked w/ a fella that was C H E A P.!!! REAL CHEAP.. so cheap he only had 1 lite bulb in his house.. & took it from room to room.!!
He drove an old Chrysler K car..
1 day the windshield wiper motor went out during the rainy season..
He tied a small bungee to 1 side of the wiper [passenger} & hooked shoestring to the other[driver side]..
He would pull the shoestring & the bungee would pull it back..
He drove it THAT WAY for YEARS.!!!
Same fella, same car.. the battery died & would only hold a charge for a very short while..
He MOUNTED a small battery charger UNDER THE HOOD & would plug it in EVERY NIGHT when he got home..
What kinda of funny is.. his Dad died & the guy became an instant millionaire w/ 7-8 figures in his bank account,
and STILL lives the same way.!! EVERYTHING he owns is duct taped or wired together.. Lol
He drove an old Chrysler K car..
1 day the windshield wiper motor went out during the rainy season..
He tied a small bungee to 1 side of the wiper [passenger} & hooked shoestring to the other[driver side]..
He would pull the shoestring & the bungee would pull it back..
He drove it THAT WAY for YEARS.!!!
Same fella, same car.. the battery died & would only hold a charge for a very short while..
He MOUNTED a small battery charger UNDER THE HOOD & would plug it in EVERY NIGHT when he got home..
What kinda of funny is.. his Dad died & the guy became an instant millionaire w/ 7-8 figures in his bank account,
and STILL lives the same way.!! EVERYTHING he owns is duct taped or wired together.. Lol
Gary Fowler
Super Star Member
- Joined
- Jun 23, 2008
- Messages
- 11,998
- Location
- Bismarck Arkansas
- Tractor
- 2009 Kubota RTV 900, 2009 Kubota B26 TLB & 2010 model LS P7010
I was driving a Chevy 1/2 ton 4 wheel drive on a short cut across the Saudi Arabia desert when the front drive shaft came loose from the front differential. I had no tools, the 2 way radio telephone in the truck was out of range of a tower and I was in a fix. I couldn't drive it with the drive shaft hanging down and I couldn't remove it. I was stranded 20 km or more from the closest help. I started looking around for something that I could use to hold up the driveshaft and low and behold, I found a wire clothes hanger. NOW what were the odds of finding a wire clothes hanger in the middle of the desert with nothing, absolutely nothing within 20 km of there.
The hanger was just perfect for what I needed so I carefully aligned the shaft so it would run straight, then backed up a slight rise to get a running start. I decided that I better lower the air pressure in my tires for better flotation in the soft desert sand before getting started. After that it was hit or miss as to whether I could get thru the soft sand to the construction site about 20Km away.
So except for one spot where I hit some sugar sand and almost got stuck, I made it all the way back to the mechanic shop.
Another time taking the approximately same route, my truck engine started overheating due to a sticking thermostat. I could run about a mile and have to stop, let it cool then add some water and go another mile or so. Finally I ran out of water from my 5 gallon water can(we all had to carry that much with us daily to keep hydrated). My life must have been charmed back then because, suddenly after topping a hill, I came upon an Aramco water well that had a small shallow pond of water standing around it. I was able to use my hard hat to scoop up water to refill my 5 gallon cooler and refill the radiator. Using this, I again made it back to the mechanic shop. Man they issued me the worst of the worst company trucks to drive. In the 4 months I was there, I went thru 23 changes of vehicles due to mechanical failure of some sort (sometime I was getting back the same truck again).
The hanger was just perfect for what I needed so I carefully aligned the shaft so it would run straight, then backed up a slight rise to get a running start. I decided that I better lower the air pressure in my tires for better flotation in the soft desert sand before getting started. After that it was hit or miss as to whether I could get thru the soft sand to the construction site about 20Km away.
So except for one spot where I hit some sugar sand and almost got stuck, I made it all the way back to the mechanic shop.
Another time taking the approximately same route, my truck engine started overheating due to a sticking thermostat. I could run about a mile and have to stop, let it cool then add some water and go another mile or so. Finally I ran out of water from my 5 gallon water can(we all had to carry that much with us daily to keep hydrated). My life must have been charmed back then because, suddenly after topping a hill, I came upon an Aramco water well that had a small shallow pond of water standing around it. I was able to use my hard hat to scoop up water to refill my 5 gallon cooler and refill the radiator. Using this, I again made it back to the mechanic shop. Man they issued me the worst of the worst company trucks to drive. In the 4 months I was there, I went thru 23 changes of vehicles due to mechanical failure of some sort (sometime I was getting back the same truck again).
/pine
Super Star Member
- Joined
- Mar 4, 2009
- Messages
- 15,059
I once made a resistor to knock down the voltage on an electric fence application out of a coffee can...
I did not want to take the risk of harming any wildlife or pets when I was using a fence charger to keep animals out of a small garden area...
I soldered a wire to the outside of a coffee can...I soldered a small strip of copper flashing to another wire and ran the wire though a small hole I had punched in the plastic snap on lid...it held the copper strip suspended in the center of the can...
...I filled the can with water...initially the voltage was still a bit too high so I replaced the water with distilled water (made a big difference from the high mineral spring water I started with)...it worked perfectly knocking down the voltage to a level that was just enough to deter pets etc...
I did not want to take the risk of harming any wildlife or pets when I was using a fence charger to keep animals out of a small garden area...
I soldered a wire to the outside of a coffee can...I soldered a small strip of copper flashing to another wire and ran the wire though a small hole I had punched in the plastic snap on lid...it held the copper strip suspended in the center of the can...
...I filled the can with water...initially the voltage was still a bit too high so I replaced the water with distilled water (made a big difference from the high mineral spring water I started with)...it worked perfectly knocking down the voltage to a level that was just enough to deter pets etc...